decorating advice

There's something so calming about stepping into a fancy hotel — if only you could channel that same getaway sensation at home, right? Whether you long for a sleek, streamlined design or something more rich and elegant, with a few quick tricks, you can turn your home into a sophisticated haven. Interested? Follow these guidelines, room by room, to make your home feel more polished:

In the living room:

• Make bold style statements, like choosing a gorgeous, grand chandelier over a simple lamp.
• Step outside the box and consider an eclectic design for a more contemporary look.
• Choose knick knacks wisely and be picky about which items are visible in the room.

Keep reading for more tips on how to make your home feel like a getaway.

Entryways tend to be smaller, but that doesn't make them any less important — after all, the foyer is a guest's first impression of your home. For that reason, it's worth your time to design an entryway that nicely reflects your style. Not sure where to start? Follow these quick tips to create a foyer that's both functional and well-decorated year-round:

• Go with a statement piece. The easiest way to have a major impact is to choose a unique focal point that visitors will notice right away. A gorgeous mirror is a practical pick, since it allows you to have one last look-over before walking out the door. Other ideas include a large work of art, a striking armoire, or a colorful chair.
• Consider your storage options. Are you regularly grabbing keys, hats, or gloves as you leave? Choose a piece of furniture that suits your habits, whether that's a tall chest of drawers or a tiny table to hold your essentials. If you live in a climate with four seasons, think about your Winter storage needs before making any purchases.
• Don't forget seating. A chair of some kind is crucial for practical reasons — putting on shoes, waiting guests — but don't choose just any chair: pick one that embodies your personal style. Since there's little else to coordinate with, this is a great place to indulge your creativity and buy a chair that perfectly represents your taste.
• Set the mood with lighting. A chandelier strikes a much different note than, say, a table lamp. Since you're dealing with a smaller space, every piece of furniture matters, so pick one that says something. For a fun, eclectic look, try a stark contrast, like a gold, contemporary floor lamp with a rustic wooden table.
• Leave space for extras. Don't crowd your foyer with unnecessary knickknacks because you'll need that space for all those random items that you end up tossing aside as soon as you walk in. Prevent a mess before it starts by leaving ample room for everyday accessories.
• Make simple seasonal swaps. As the months change, so does your decor. The easiest, neatest way to transition your entryway? Rather than adding to the space, trade pieces — one in, one out. Some examples: a Winter boot tray, a Spring umbrella rack, or a Summer picnic basket. That way you don't have to add extra clutter, just exchange your pieces for other, more seasonally appropriate items.

Do you have any tips for decorating a foyer? Share them in the comments!

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I'm excited to present a post from guest writer, eco lifestyle expert, and all-around awesome guy Danny Seo.

As a former magazine editor, I produced and styled dozens of decorating and entertaining stories for a number of publications including Country Home, Better Homes & Gardens, Elle, Everyday With Rachael Ray, and InStyle. Every shoot was different than the next one in terms of style and goal, but I still stuck to my bargain basement styling secrets to pull them off. For the first time ever, I'm sharing my Top 5 tips to get that magazine look for way less right here at CasaSugar.

Goodwill, Salvation Army and Thrift Shops! Tarnished silver-plated ornate trays, milky glass bottles and vases, and vintage style plates to adorn an entire wall can be very pricey if you shop at antique stores to source them. Thrift stores — especially those in small towns across America — can be a treasure trove of unusual home decor items at a fraction of the cost. One celebrity client whose home I styled for a magazine shoot was insistent nothing from Goodwill could enter her home, so I simply wrapped my thrift store finds in tissue paper and tossed it into an Anthropologie shopping bag. She loved it. Can you believe that half the items on the dining table came from Goodwill?

Brown Thumb? Rent Plants. One way to make a patio or garden look lush and gorgeous is to rent mature palm trees and flowering bushes. If you're planning to have an outdoor party but don't want the cost of expensive plants, ask your local nursery if they'll rent them to you. At about 10 -20 percent of cost, they'll deliver the plants, set them up, and take them away after the party (or in my case, the photo shoot).

Keep reading for the rest of Danny's tips for styling your house so it looks like it's in the pages of a magazine!

Even though you may admire colorful spaces, it's sometimes hard to muster up the courage to introduce non-neutrals into your own home. Deciding on a hue that you like enough to splash across a room is already anxiety inducing, but then there's the dilemma of figuring out how much of it to use, what other colors to use with it, and of course, where to put it. If this sounds like a fitting diagnosis, try to embrace color by following these insightful tips!

• Choose one color, but use many hues

Designer DD Allen chose a blue palette in a variety of shades for this Long Island home. The custom watery blue of the polished Venetian plaster walls echoes the blue in the floor tiles.


• Keep pink in check

Designer Barry Dixon chose a feminine pink but tempered it with a masculine shade of brown for the living room in this Capitol Hill row house. The result is a sophisticated, gender-neutral palette that feels perfectly balanced.

To discover the five other tips for conquering color, check out the full story at House Beautiful!

For those of us who shared a bedroom with a sibling growing up, the idea of delineating your space thanks to a line (often times marked with masking tape) is no new concept. This, however, is a much more sophisticated take on the idea of bisecting a space.
The owner of this Parisian apartment embraced a bright color palette when decorating, relying on bright splashes of yellow and green to augment white walls and furnishings. In the bedroom, a band of green has been painted from the walls, over the ceiling, and across the window. Instead of relying on paint for the window, though, a plastic adhesive was used to create the effect.

While I'd automatically assume that painting a single stripe across a room would create a preppy or sporty effect, in reality, this room looks much more avant garde and artistic than anything else. The competing shades of green also amp up the effect of the stripe, creating a simultaneously harmonious yet slightly off — in a good way — look to the space.

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